Ferals
by T'Mu-Yor
Summary: AU This story doesn't follow the movie at ALL. This story is about if the Mutants lost and the humans were suppressing them. This is a short story about a OC named Alara who is captured and put into a breeding program to create weapons. This is a Logan/OC
1. Breeders

AN/ This is a new story, it isn't going to be very long. It's a Logan/OC pairing. I want to note that this story is based off of a dream I had last night. Though it may bare resemblances to other stories on it is MY story. Perhaps those stories influenced my dreams but I'm going to do my best to distinguish this story from the others. Though I do warn you it will have similar factors.

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men nor Wolverine. I do own Alara She is MY invention, from my imagination.

Chapter 1 Breeders

Where should I start? Perhaps introduce myself? Or maybe even tell you a little about my world? There is just so much information to give you that I am a bit lost as to what to say. Perhaps I'll start at my beginning. Where I came into this story, then I can give you a bit of back information as I go along. Yes, I think that is what I will do.

My name is Alara, when this all started I had just turned eighteen. For me that was the worst day of my life. You see, in my world there are two types of 'people' you have the normal people and the mutants. Humans are the superior race, they conquered my race about ten years ago.

My parents were normal but I wasn't. The moment I was born they knew that I would not be the same; you see I am a feral mutant. This means that I show animal like tendencies. Some ferals, known as first class ferals, have no outward mutation, they just have animal like senses, and others, known as second class ferals, look like an animal but have no other mutations. Then there are the third class ferals, the category that I fall into. We are the ones that not only have features like claws, teeth, different looks but also have the advanced healing factors, the heightened senses, the speed, strength and reflexes of the animal they represent.

We are the cursed, we are the breeders. Another fact you may want to know. The military loves the third kind of feral, for we have the intelligence of a human but the strength and stamina of a beast. They breed various ferals to create offspring that can be molded into armies that they can command. Taking the children from their parents only moments after they are born. As they mature the ones that are useful are put into programs to shape them into what the military wants, those that are not useful are returned to the breeding program when they come of age.

This is the world that I live in. My parents did their best to hide me, I spent years being moved around from family member to family member. But one uncle who had come on hard times ratted me out for a bit of money.

Now here I sit in this 10 by 10 cage. They brought me to the breeding compound nearly two weeks ago. Right now I have just gotten out of quarantine. Apparently they don't want me infecting the other breeders. During my quarantine I have learned a lot about this facility. There are a few female guards and physicians that like to talk, even if it is mostly to themselves.

This facility holds all kinds of Ferals, apparently the third type is getting rare. Some mutant hating groups went on a hunting spree and destroyed most of the third group. They felt we were a threat even though we are now nothing more then kept pets. The total number of my kind is down to three in this facility and in the united states there are only about 50 of us left.

They have started breeding us with the other feral classes in hopes that our genes will be dominate. From what one of the ladies said it wasn't very much of a success.

The other Feral in my facility was wild. He was apparently one of the militaries first attempts at creating a weapon using a Feral. They graphed metal to his bone structure and cleared his memory. This apparently brought out his inner beast and he became a killing machine killing at the slightest order. Eventually he got a bit out of hand and they decided to 'retire' him to the breeding program.

The only problem with that is he was still wild and any female that was sent into his den was usually killed on sight. The few that made it past the sight ended up being killed before they could leave. Only two females had made it out alive but they were permanently taken out of the breeding program because of where their wounds were.

I feared that they would throw me to the Wolverine, as he was named, but one of the females reassured me that I was just to valuable for them to do that yet. First they were going to send someone in to 'break' me. Apparently this was a third class Feral who had been sterilized some time before the breeding program came into affect. Now he was just used to break the spirits of all the females who came to the compound. They hoped that once Sabertooth was through with them they wouldn't put up any more protest.

From what I heard it seemed to work. Apparently he was so bad that the women were willing to take any partner as long as he was kept away afterwards. Well almost any, no one was dumb enough to want to go into the Wolverines cage.

Night was quickly approaching and I knew that my breaking time was coming up. Mentally I did my best to prepare myself. Some big kitty wouldn't get under my skin. You see I never did tell you my mutation. I am a Tiger Feral. I am rather short standing only about 54 and built stalky. I'm not fast but I am very powerful. My tiger instincts tell me to be a loner even when I was younger I didn't have many friends. The few that I did make I was fiercely protective of. I couldn't stand other feline ferals. Something about them just got me all riled up.

My physical mutations were fangs, claws, white hair with black stripes, and black stripes all over my body. I was stronger then most humans and could heal quickly though not instantaneously like some ferals. Like all third class ferals I had an inner beast that I kept under tight control. The inner beast was uncontrollable once released. They tended to kill first and ask questions later.

While in my musings I didn't notice the door opening but my nose picked up the change around me. My eyes snapped up to the entrance of my den and I saw the ugliest, hairiest, most fowl smelling man enter my space. I could tell instantly that he was the Sabertooth. I let out a roar of protest and stood up snorting.

"Get out" I growled lashing out towards him. The large man just laughed and came closer. I could feel the tension in my muscles. The beast inside of me was crying to be released to get the intruder out of our territory. I did my best to restrain it for now, but if he didn't leave soon I wouldn't be able to stop it fully.

Sabortooth came fully into my den and the door was shut. I knew that there was no going back now, I would have to fight or succumb to him. There was no way in hell that I would do such a thing, he wasn't my mate, he wasn't my husband or even boyfriend, that beast wouldn't put a paw on me without a fight.

A fight is what he got. I went at him fighting with tooth claw and nail. My roars of protest fell upon deaf ears because the rooms were soundproofed. After he broke a few ribs and sprained my ankle my internal beast took over and I blacked out. When I finally came to he was gone, but I knew that I had lost.

My body was broken, I had so many broken bones and lacerations that I couldn't even begin to count them all. I had been violated but that didn't mean that I had given up. No, I wasn't one of their first or second class females I was a third class feral, it would take more then some ugly beast to fully break my will.

The medics came in and cleaned me up. They set my bones and put bandages on my wounds to make sure I wouldn't get any infections. They knew within a week I would be back to complete health. For now I played along, I didn't want them to send Sabortooth back for round two. But that didn't mean I was going to play along with their breeding game. They wouldn't be getting any broods out of me, not until hell freezes over.

For a month everything was fine, after I healed they sent a few second class ferals to my den. The men were weak and I broke them before they could even try to breed. I didn't kill them mind you, some I just made useless to the program others I broke a few bones and they cried like babies. After those few failures they tried a few first class ferals. Though stronger that the others my claws had them running like scared puppies.

It was then that I started to get punished. When ever I sent one of my breeding partners to the medical wing they would drag me out and let about ten humans have at me. They would first drug me then beat the living daylights out of me. I would be thrown back into my den battered and bruised. They stopped patching me up and kept sending the males into my den. But I always fought back, not a single one got to me.

Apparently by the end of the first month the head honchos of the facility were getting fed up with me. After one of my punishment sessions I heard two of my escorts talking about how they were about to give up and find another female feral. At first I was happy about this until they continued saying that they were going to dispose of me by tossing me to the Wolverine.

While I lay in my den recovering I debated on if it would be worth my death to keep fighting. I knew that being thrown to the Wolverine was suicide, but did I really want to continue living being used to pop out children who will be manipulated and turned into living machines. The answer was clear, no. I would never let any of my children live to have that fate.

The following day they dragged me out of my room. Again they beat me to the point I could barely move breaking one of my ankles, a few ribs and giving me a black eye that made it hard for me to see. I had a laceration that ran from my shoulder to my wrist that nearly made it impossible for me to move that arm.

They were making it easier for the wolverine, why I will never be sure but I think they may have just been getting one last kick out of torturing me before I died. They walked me down a corridor that I knew wasn't my own and to a door that was nearly three feet thick. I knew my door was only about one. This made me a bit more apprehensive, I knew most third class ferals were strong but not that strong.

The door was cracked open and they shoved me in slamming it behind me. I fell on the floor in a heap landing on my broken ankle wrong. I let out a roar towards the door slamming my fist into the ground trying to ignore the pain that was shooting up my leg. It was then I heard it. A low dog like growl just to the right of me. I shifted a little so I wasn't lying on my broken ankle and looked up. There crouched down was a man who couldn't have been more the 5'5, stalky like me and the strangest hairdo. It was spiked up on the sides like ears.

He was naked like all the other breeders, though he could heal I could quickly there were a few scars on his body that told tails of his own torture at the hands of the military. I quickly moved so that I could somewhat defend myself and let out a growl of my own. It was a stand off at first but eventually he lunged. I roared and swiped at him defending myself to the best of my ability.

He paused and grabbed my arm with the laceration and I let out a caterwaul that would make any person go deaf. This seemed to break him from his attack trance. He leaned forward sniffing at my wound then sniffing the rest of me stopping over the places I was seriously injured.

He looked up at me and I could see a flash of intelligence. His human side was trying to control the feral beast. He let out a grunt and reached out picking me up. I was so startled that I let him. He took me over to his bed and put me in it. Then he proceeded to get in with me. I was started at first but he just curled up behind me. It was a protective gesture and I was a bit shocked but I accepted it. The beast inside of me even seemed content like this so I relaxed.

The next morning when the guards came to drag away my dead body they were stunned to find an over protective Wolverine blocking their path from my prone body. Though I had begun to heal I couldn't walk because my ankle was still fixing itself. I echoed his growl letting them know I was alive and kicking. They eventually left and for the time being I was safe from them.

The wolverine made his way back over towards me letting out a whining growl as he yet again positioned himself protectively between me and the den door. I looked up at the 'monster' that everyone had talked about. I knew that what they had said was no lie, but I also knew that somewhere inside of him he was still someone other then the wolverine, just like I was still Alara, not the Tigress as the workers here were calling me.

I watched him for a moment before smiling "Thank you" my voice was raspy from lack of use. This place really did bring out your feral side. I don't think I have uttered a true word in the past three weeks.

His eyes shifted for a moment. I was quickly learning that this shift signaled the struggle between the feral wolverine and the human he had once been. "Wel…com"

Just as quickly as the shift had occurred, his eyes were back to the dark black of the wolverine. He squatted down so that he was looking at my face and I gave him a short growl. Even if he had spared my life I still didn't know how to react around the man in front of me. Something those women did had to have set him off.

He looked at me and snorted. It was as if he was saying 'like you could challenge me'. Something about that arrogance pushed my buttons and my growl intensified. I wasn't a push over, I wasn't going to be used. The men who had captured me tried but failed some over grown wolverine wasn't going to succeed where they failed.

He advanced on me and I swiped at his face with my good arm, my claws extended. I must have caught him off guard because four red marks appeared on his cheek. They healed within moments in front of my eyes. He just sat there looking a bit perplexed until they had healed then a strange smile appeared on his face.

It was a bit creepy, to me at least. It wasn't an I'm going to get you for that look that you would expect, more like a playful challenge. He proceeded to advance on me again and I again went on the defensive.

This time when I swiped at him he caught my wrist. He pulled me towards him slowly and I started to freak out a bit more. The feral part of my brain was roaring to be released and just when I was about to give into her when he surprised me by nuzzling my cheek.

I sat there for a moment trying to figure out what the hell would prompt The Wolverine into rubbing his cheek against mine. Slowly the pieces started to fall into place. So many of the males that had been shoved into my pen were bent on obeying our captors commands. They would act like a trained puppy and walk over assuming I would do the same. I had fought back tooth, claw and fist. Before being tossed into his den I had began to feel defeated, not in the sense that they wanted but in the fact that perhaps I was the only one that wasn't going along for the ride.

Maybe that is why he attacked the other females because they came in here so obediently and didn't put up a fight. I didn't put up much of one either against him but my wounds were clear signals that I had not come to his den willingly. Now I was fending him off even while wounded.

With that bit of understanding I responded letting out a purr rubbing my cheek against his and relaxing a bit. I had nothing to fear from him. Hell even in his feral mindset he understood me.

He moved back from me looking at my arm and ankle. My arm was nearly healed but my ankle was still swollen and bruised. Then he looked back up at me as if asking for an explanation. "I wasn't playing their game. I wouldn't let the males within a few feet of me without hurting them. They got upset with me. I think they gave up on me and decided to toss me to you to finish off"

For a moment it seemed like he didn't understand but again his eyes seemed to shift. He grunted and even though it sounded raspy it was almost discernable as an "Idiots". I laughed at his comment and laid back against the bedding. When I looked back at him his eyes still seemed to hold the human quality that had been there before.

I gave him a smile and moved over "Thanks again, I think you saved my life" he didn't respond this time just lay down between me and the door yet again. Sleep came quickly that night. I credit that to the fact that for the first time in years I felt completely safe with my wolverine. Even though I didn't know much about him something was telling me that I was safe and strangely enough it seemed to be my feral side.

My feral side was typically the most paranoid part of me. If a twig snapped it screamed that someone was out to get me, if a door slammed it cried out that I was trapped. But tonight it was content, a soft purring sound seemed to echo in my head and I was started to also feel it emanating from my body as I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

AN Here is chapter one of Feral… it is only a 3 chapter story (so far in my mind) This is the introductory, there will be the main idea and the epilogue… but who knows as I write I may come up with more… We'll see.


	2. Outsiders

AN This is the second chapter of my story Ferals… I hope you enjoy it…

Disclaimer: I don't own X-men or any of their characters… I do own Alara though she is ALL MINE STEAL HER AND I"LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND KILL YOU… or just be really upset… who knows…

Chapter 2 Outsiders

My peaceful sleep was interrupted by a loud booming noise. Wolverine was up pacing the small room constantly looking towards the door. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Sitting up I managed to struggle to my feet though I favored my bad ankle.

Even though the room was dark my keen eyesight caught the look on the Wolverine's face. He seemed confused and aggravated. His eyes kept shifting from the black color of the feral wolverine to the brown color I was now associating with his more human like emotions.

The door to our den was shoved open and one of our 'keepers' was standing outside of it with a gun. Before either of us could fully react the man shot wolverine. The feral side of me snapped and everything seemed to shift into slow motion.

I let out an ear piercing roar and lunged at him. My hand closed around the barrel of the gun and I tore it out of his grasp. I tossed it to the side then my other hand came up grabbing him by the collar as he tried to run away. My claws extended and pierced the side of his neck. He let out a gurgled scream as my index nail pierced his windpipe.

It only took a few moments for him to die after that. I tossed his body to the side before returning to my downed wolverine. I knelt beside him keening and nudging him with my hand. The bullet had pierced his chest and something in me screamed that he was dead.

When he didn't move for a few moments I let out a sad whine. I was about to get up and leave when from no where he took a shuttering breath, then a moment later another. This continued until he struggled up to his hands and knees. My mind was still clouded by the feral side of me dominating and I pounced on him.

I was purring and growling happily, I even licked and nipped at him a few times to show my joy at him being alive. I didn't register it at the time but his eyes were brown, a solid brown not the flickering black, brown that had been happening for the past few hours.

He looked down at me then the man that was lying dead at the door. He frowned but got up keeping his grip on me. "Come on darling, I think it is time for us to get out of here". He ushered me towards the door and we both tried to sniff out the exits.

After many tries and a few run ins with keepers we made it to the outside. The moment our feet touched the outside ground we both ran. The adrenaline blocked the pain I felt from my ankle. We ran for what felt like hours, sometime during the run my feral side faded to the back of my mind. It was probably when we had gotten what she deemed a safe distance away from the compound.

Eventually I started to wear out. How much energy my body had used to heal the wounds our keepers had inflicted on me had taken its toll. I tripped and fell face first into the ground panting and wheezing. The Wolverine stopped and knelt down beside me offering his hand "Come on Darlin, we can't stop yet".

I looked up at him and tried to get up but was too tired. "I can't… we got to be far enough away by now…" He seemed to contemplate what I said before nodding.

"I guess so for now, but we need to find somewhere to stay…" I reluctantly struggled to my feet. He offered me his shoulder to lean on and I did so gratefully. We continued on at a much slower pace, more like a fast walk as he tried to sniff out a place for us to stop for the night.

It took us nearly four hours before we came upon a cabin that appeared to be used seasonally for hunting I was guessing. No one was there and it smelled like no one had been there in a few weeks at the very least so we decided this was as good of place as any.

Wolverine got us in using his claws. We decided to not use the fire, it was only what I guess to be mid September and still warm enough to get by without it. He helped me into the bedroom and I collapsed on the bed laying back and propping my foot up. It was still healing but all that running had probably set me back a day or so.

As I got myself comfortable he turned to leave. Something told me not to let him go so I reached out grabbing his wrist. "Thank you again. It seems that you keep saving me. First Wolverine from the keepers now you from the compound…"

He seemed puzzled at my statement and I realized he probably didn't remember much from his time in feral mode. "I'm sorry Darlin, Ah… I really don't remember much, only bits and pieces… you were with me in that place and I guess something was just tellin me to get you out too"

I nodded and gave him a slight smile "Hum, I'll just have to remind you then, can't owe my life to someone who doesn't remember why" he frowned and was about to protest but I shook my head.

"Come on you saved me twice… besides" I looked away from him releasing his hand "It isn't like I have anywhere else to go. I have no clue where we are, and I don't think my family will be willing to hide me if I go back to them. Sorry buddy but until I can figure out where else I'm going you're stuck with me"

He sighed but nodded "We probably shouldn't stick together darlin… they are gonna be looking for two run away third class ferals we'd have a better chance of staying free if we split up"

I frowned looking back at him "I really don't want to be alone. If… if that's what you want then fine but personally I would rather take that chance, two strong ferals can fight off more then one" He reluctantly nodded in agreement and sat down on the end of the bed.

"So what is you're name darlin? I don't have anythin to call ya right now" Something inside of me came to life and I pounced on him hugging his neck. I was very happy that he wasn't going to just ditch me and make me fend for myself. I found myself purring and had to force myself to stop.

I cleared my throat letting him go and backing up "Alara, when I'm acting myself I go by Alara but my feral won't listen to any name but Tiger… she's got one hell of a mind of her own."

I could somewhat remember killing the keeper when I thought that Wolverine was dead. I glanced down at my hands to find bits of blood dried under the nails. I shuttered at the thought of what I had done but the feral side of me was roaring. She was happy that she had got a chance to prove herself to the wolverine.

He took my hand moving it away from my view "Stop Alara, she did what she had to do to keep you alive. You can call me Logan… it seems like were gonna be stuck together for a while hu?"

I looked up at him smiling. Personally I didn't think that was such a bad thing but I pushed that thought to the back of my mind. "It seems like it Logan, we probably should rest up a bit so that we can get an early start tomorrow. This place is still to close to the compound for my liking… I would really like to get my ass out of the country. Some countries don't have a price on our heads."

He nodded and again got up to leave the room. I let him this time though when he walked through the door I felt like something was missing. In the two short days that I had been around him I had grown accustom to his presence. I lay down in bed and tried to sleep but it wouldn't come easily. After tossing and turning for an hour I finally fell into a fitful sleep. It was plagued with nightmares of being taken back to the compound, watching Logan be killed and of Sabertooth.

The sun hadn't even risen in the sky when I climbed out of the bed. After only three hours of sleep I decided that it was useless. I moved over to a closet that was in the corner and opened it. My luck was holding out because there were some cloths left in the closet. I found a pair of camo pants and a black t-shirt that fit me rather well, the bottoms were lose on me and the top was tight on my chest but they would do for now. I also found a pair of jeans and a white shirt that I thought may fit Logan.

I put the cloths for Logan on the bed then made my way out of the bedroom. I found Logan asleep on the floor in front of the fire place. He's sleep also seemed riddled with nightmares because he was whining and periodically would jerk his arm or leg as if kicking or punching someone.

I knew that we needed to leave soon but I couldn't find it in me to wake Logan up just yet. I walked outside taking in the sounds of the early morning. It was quiet but a few birds were starting to wake up and the crickets were still awake chirping away. After a few cautious moments I decided that no one was around and went behind the house where a small creek flowed.

Reaching into it I washed my hands of the dried blood as well as my arms and face. I knew that I had no choice but to kill the keeper… he would have killed me after Logan if I hadn't acted, but the thought of it still got to me.

When I was sure the blood was gone I got up turning back towards the cabin. I nearly fell backwards into the creek when I saw Logan not two feet behind me. His head was tilted down casting a shadow over his face.

Sighed when I realized it was Logan but a low growl stopped me in my tracks as I had started to walk towards him. It was then that I noticed his eyes had shifted back to the dark black color that I knew as Wolverine.

Something must have set him off to bring the Wolverine back to the surface. He must have been dreaming of the compound. He started advancing on me growling and fear ran down my spine like a cold splash of water. In the compound he had protected me but now that we were out in the open who knows how he would react to my presence.

I let out a growl and tried to back away just to come to the edge of the creek. His growl intensified when I backed up and I knew that if I didn't get out of there something drastic may happen. With a roar I shoved past him trying to get somewhere that he wouldn't get me.

I knew that if I fought him I was as good as dead, my ankle though healed was still soar and he had metal claws. I knew there was no where I would be completely safe but the cabin seemed to be my best bet. I made a beeline for the door.

I could hear him tailing after me and every step I took he got a step closer. The door was only feet in front of me and I reached my hand out to grasp the handle but a sharp tug on my shirt collar had me flying backwards.

The Wolverine had a tight grip on my shirt with one hand as I fell backwards right into his chest. I let out a yowl of surprise and anger as he wrapped his other arm around me so that I couldn't escape.

I struggled to get away but the more I struggled the stronger his grip around my waist was. His mouth, and k-9 like teeth were only inches away from the pulse point of my neck, the typical kill spot for most predators.

He was growling low in his chest only straining the tone when I tried to get out of his grasp. With the way I was positioned there was no way for me to attack him. I let out a whine as I gave up. No matter how much I clawed at his arm or struggled his grip just seemed to keep getting tighter and tighter to the point I thought my ribs were going to break.

Once I had stopped trying to get away his growling got quieter. I could still feel his breath on my neck but he didn't move in for the kill only stood there growling and breathing. My mind raced trying to figure out what was going on but nothing made sense.

It was only after I had calmed down knowing that he wasn't going to kill me at any moment that I noticed his growling sounded a bit like words. The words "mine" and "stay" stood out the most out of his little mantra and I was beginning to get an idea of what was going on.

This was going to be more trouble then I had expected. It seems as though the Wolverine had claimed me as his property or a potential mate. When Logan woke up and I wasn't in the cabin Wolverine must have had a fit thinking that I had been taken away from him. Most ferals animalistic sides were very possessive and protective of there chosen one.

I fully relaxed in his grasp and let out a soft purring sound. "Yes Wolverine… I'm still here, I'm still safe… you protected me very well… please let logan come back… I won't go anywhere… I'm here"

I did my best to reassure the Wolverine using a soft tone of voice. I knew that I needed Logan out if we were going to get away from this place for good. The whole situation with Wolverine would have to be fixed later… for now I knew I needed to let him think what he wanted to or I would never get Logan back.

I knew the moment that Wolverine had given up and was letting Logan back because his body seemed to relax just a bit. Logan seemed shocked at the position that we were in because he released me quickly.

"Alara… I…" I stopped him by turning around "later… we really need to get out of here and soon…"

We were gone in less then twenty minutes. We only stayed long enough to get an extra set of clothing each and a few cans of food that were still in the cabin to eat later on. We could both hunt but you never know when you might not have anything available to hunt.

It was nearly noon before Logan spoke again "I'm sorry darlin if I startled you. I don't know what came over me or why he came back out. I thought I had a good bit of control over him."

I turned to him stopping midstride. "Don't worry about it Logan… actually I have been meaning to talk to you about it all morning… what do you remember about this morning?"

He looked at me puzzled but complied "I woke up and noticed that your scent was cold… that's about it until I came back to myself"

I nodded because I had figured as much… I sighed after a few moments and started to walk again. Logan was going slow so that I could keep pace with him. After a few moments I finally decided on what to say.

"Logan, Wolverine… it was weird… I had went to get cleaned up this morning and after I was done and turned around he was there. At first I thought it was you but then he started to growl and I knew other wise. I tried to get back to the cabin but he caught me and made it so I couldn't get free. When I finally stopped struggling I heard him say mine and stay. I think the wolverine thought I was leaving him."

Logan didn't speak just kept walking but the slight stutter in his step told me he had connected the dots as well. He knew that the wolverine had chosen me as his mate. It seems to have been a shock to us both.

Again we walked in silence until dark. Logan must recognize where we are because he led us directly to a cave. The entrance was hidden in the underbrush of the woods so it was good for hiding in.

The floor was dry and I could see that there were a few small holes in the top of the cave where bats probably entered and left through it would also be good if we risked making a fire because the smoke would leave through those holes and not choke us to death.

Logan got up after a few minutes telling me he was going to get us some food and firewood and left the cave quickly. I was upset that he hadn't spoken about what happened this morning…

This was something we needed to deal with, we couldn't have his feral side thinking that I was his mate because if we did have to split up then he would slip back into wolverine mode and track me down.

Although logically I knew having his feral side claiming me was a bad idea another part of me, which I am suspicious is my feral side, is purring in delight. Wolverine is a very strong feral. He is very protective and would make a great mate if I wasn't running for my life.

I shook my head clearing away those traitorous thoughts. This was not the time to be oogling my escape partner. Those kind of thoughts would get us captured and either killed or returned to the breeding program.

No matter how much I kept telling my mind to stay away from those thoughts it kept wandering back. I was having a heated internal debate with my feral side when Logan came back. He had about five rabbits that looked to have been skewered in his grasp.

After setting them inside the cave entrance he left and returned only a few moments later with an arm full of wood. Something inside of me snapped and a low purr started to escape me. The Tigress was roaring with pleasure, he was a provider and a strong hunter, he was the perfect mate.

Logan looked up as he heard the purring and I blushed trying to qualm the sound. He seemed to just shrug it off as he cleaned and skinned the large rabbits then roast them over the now low burning fire.

As the night progressed my mind continually ventured back to the forbidden topic no matter how hard I tried to avoid it. Eventually I gave in agreeing with my feral side that Wolverine would be a good mate, if we ever made it to safety. This quieted her enough for me to try to get some sleep.

Logan had sat by the cave entrance most of the night his back to me. He occasionally moved to stir the fire and keep it going to keep us warm but he didn't speak. He was to caught up in his own thoughts to talk I guessed.

I ended up falling asleep with my back to him and my face towards the fire. Again a content purr escaped me as I drifted off into a restful sleep. The last thing to register in my mind was movement from Logan as he left his post by the door and came to sit behind me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------'

As morning yet again roused me from my sleep I noticed the hard floor beneath me first followed by the warmth behind me and around my waist. At first my mind told me I was still locked in the compound in Wolverine's den but as I came more awake and could smell the fresh air of the forest I knew that I wasn't there any longer. The pending question was why I could feel someone curled up behind me holding me so protectively.

I came fully awake and looked down slowly to see an arm secured snuggly around my waist. It looked to be Logan's arm. I shifted slightly only to be tugged flush against the body behind me preventing any movement again. I let out a long sigh and decided to just enjoy the warmth while I could.

It was nearly an hour later when the body behind me stirred. I had drifted off into a shallow sleep but when he moved it fully roused me into the land of the living. He grunted low then shifted to where he was nuzzling against my neck. After a moment he seemed to realize what he was doing because he stopped and shifted backwards just the slightest bit.

I was curious to say the least so I kept my eyes close and regulated my breathing so he would think I was still asleep. What can I say, I'm feline I am always curious as to what others were up to.

He seemed to believe I was asleep because he didn't remove his hold from me instead he leaned in sniffing at my neck and hair. I had to refrain from laughing as his breath tickled my neck.

He let out a rumbling possessive growl as he tightened his grip on me slightly then placed a light kiss on my shoulder. At this point I was startled and very curious as to if this was Logan or Wolverine curled up behind me.

This question was answered as he let out a grumble and released me moving as far away from me as possible. It was Logan because his grumble had been actual words and not the typical snorts and snarls of the Wolverine.

I lay still for a few more moments before rolling over as if searching for my heat source then slowly opening my eyes. "hu" I mutter before seemed to snap awake. I looked around before looking over at him.

"Uh… morning… guess it wasn't all a dream after all." I mutter in greetings. He nodded before getting up and preparing to close down camp. I stretch in a very feline way before joining him in covering the fire and clean up any evidence that we were ever here.

Again we were out and on the road before the sun had even fully crested the horizon. There was no sign that we were being followed and it had me very worried. Why hadn't anyone caught up to us yet? It couldn't be that easy for us to escape… could it?

I voiced my opinion and Logan stopped his trek. "You're right darlin there should be some sign of them tracken us by now"

We had to be nearly 300 miles away from the compound after walking and running for three days. But we had yet to hear a plane or helicopter go by. Something wasn't adding up.

We decided to stop avoiding the cities and find a nice small town to visit and investigate what was going on. Logan and I started to sniff out and scent of humans. We followed our noses to a small town that was named Welcome.

A broad grin came to my face as I saw the town name. I knew where we were finally. Grinning I reached up and hugged Logan. "I know where we are! I know where we can go to get some information. I know where we will be safe for now"

He gave me a funny look as we walked in the shadows making our way towards my destination.

He was very skittish and I knew I probably should explain to him what was going on. "I have family here. My aunt Bonny and uncle Ralf live in this town. I lived with them for a few years before being shipped off to my uncle Kyles. He's the one that turned me in but Aunt Bonny and Ralf would never do that. Their daughter is a mutant though not a feral. She's a S class mutant. All she can do is control plants."

He nodded still a bit untrusting but followed me anyways. After about an hour we came to their house. I saw the kitchen light on. I sniffed around for and suspicious scents but found none only that of aunt Bonny and Uncle Ralf and Rachael my cousin.

I motioned for Logan to stand with me but he refused keeping out of site. I sighed and waited for someone to answer the door. Finally aunt Bonny answered. When she saw me a gasp escaped her and she flung her arms around me crying.

I reached up rubbing her back trying to calm her down. After a few minutes she finally quieted down and tried to usher me into the house. When I didn't move she stopped and gave me an inquiring look. "Logan come on… you see she's not gonna hurt you come over here please"

He grunted and came from the other side of the house. Bonny gave me a weird look before smiling and trying to usher the two of us in. She finally got us in and sat us down at the kitchen table.

"My god in heaven Alara, we have been so worried about you lately! When I heard that Kevin had sold you off to those people I saw red. The whole family did. We tried to track you down and get you back but we couldn't." She sobbed again pouncing me and embracing me in a tight hug.

I could hear Logan growling low in his throat and giving me a 'what have you gotten us into' look. I managed to calm Bonny down and tell her what happened. Of course I left out a few details about Wolverine but I did tell her that Logan had saved me and that we were trying to get as far away from the compound as possible.

When I had finished my story she gave me a smile and left the room without another word. She returned with Ralf and a hand full of newspapers. She sat them down infront of me and I picked one up reading it.

The front cover of the first one said that the government had been over thrown. Apparently a few countries in Europe had banned together and had over throne our government on ground of cruelty to man kind. The Militia of this invading force had gone out and started to destroy all the breeding compounds in the USA.

Apparently they had been destroying ours when we escaped. We hadn't stuck around long enough to see any of the invaders. We had run for three days for nothing. Well of course there are still those people out there who are against mutants but we didn't have to fear the keepers any more.

I looked over at Logan who seemed lost. Looking up at Aunt Bonny and Uncle Ralf I asked them to leave for a moment. I got a knowing look from Aunt Bonny before she ushered Uncle Ralf out of the room.

Getting out of my seat I walked over to Logan reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's over… no more breeding program… no more fighting… you can finally be free to go your own way without someone telling you what to do."

He sat silently for a moment before nodding thought to me it seemed a bit reluctantly. "yeah… I guess darlin"

I watched him for a moment frowning and turning my head to look out the window "I guess this means that your gonna be leaving on your own soon hu?"

I had known eventually that we would most likely split ways but I hadn't realized that it would be so soon. We had grown so close over the past week. My feral side was roaring at me. It kept repeating the words mine in my head so loud I nearly cringed but did my best to keep it from showing.

Logan looked up to me and I could see his eyes flicker from brown to black momentarily. He growled out something but quickly shook his head. I could see his internal battle at that moment.

A soft smile crept onto my face… it seemed to be the same exact one that I was having, even though it made no sense. We had only known each other for a week yet our feral sides had already claimed the other as theirs.

Leaning down I wrapped my arms around his arms and rested my chin on his shoulder letting out a soft purr. "That is unless your gonna listen to your feral side and stay. I still owe you my life two times over. I would hate to never get the chance to repay you."

I could feel his body shift and before I knew it he was out of my grasp and had me in his own. My arms were pinned to my sides and I could feel his warm breath just below my ear. "Mine" He growled out though it sounded to clear to be his feral side.

A my soft purring turned into a loud rumble as I nodded "Yours… and you are mine" I growled moving so that I could claim his lips in a searing kiss.

When I finally moved back I could see that his eyes were brown but just a darker color then normal. I was guessing that my blue eyes were similar in nature. Because my feral side was growling and bubbling so close to the surface as well.

I smiled at him. He eventually let me out of his embrace and I moved a few feet away from him. "Come on… we need to figure out where we are going to go from here… we can't stay with Aunt Bonny and Uncle Ralf forever."

He grunted his reply but I knew that he was agreeing if not for the obvious reason that someone may still come after us, for the other reasons that I knew were passing through his mind just as much as it was passing through my own.

It was nearly a week later when we boarded a train that would take us to New York. Apparently there was a place there that was a safe haven for mutants. It had been a school at one time but had closed down when the laws got to strict for mutants. Now that the old government had been over thrown the old owner was going to reopen it.

My grandma Lilly had went to school with the owners so we were invited to be one of the first group of mutants to go to this safe haven. Logan of course was skeptical but I just wanted a place to call home.

I had made a deal with Logan that if he didn't like the place we would pack our things and go ASAP. He grudgingly agreed to give it a try. We had also decided to give 'us' a try as well. We knew nothing about each other and just because our feral sides had claimed each other as mates didn't mean we were going to just assume they were right.

We were on our way to a new life and hopefully a new future. Time would only tell how far we would get on this twisted road we call life.

AN How was that for a body of a story… the epilogue will be up soon… though don't get me wrong it won't be short… it will just wrap up everything….

Lisa


	3. Sunset

AN/ Thank you for all the favs and reviews

AN/ Thank you for the reviews and favs, I have decided that I will make this story longer then 3 chapters… though I don't know how long yet… I'm thinking only 1 – 3 chapters more. This story has just been haunting me. I might have a new job soon and have more time to write so I thought I would make this a bit more in depth. Please continue to read and review. If you want this story to be longer then REVIEW don't just fav it… K? If I get lots of reviews I'll make it 3 or more chapters longer… if you don't review I'll only make it a chapter or two more K? ENJOY AND REVIEW!!

Ferals

Chapter 3

The Rising Sun

The dull sound of the train moving over hundreds of rail road tracks was driving me slowly crazy. My hearing was impeccable and even with the modern technology that muffled the sounds it was as clear as day to my ears and I guessed Logan's ears as well.

We were almost to our destination and my mind fell back to the previous two weeks that seemed like an eternity to me. Even though my body held no scars my mind was riddled with the mental scars from the facility. The sad part is that I could not even begin to guess the scars that my partner has.

His life has been so much longer and harder then mine and it worries me sometimes. I've watched him drift off occasionally through our trip and the pain that spreads across his rough face worries me.

Sometimes he wakes up roaring and it nearly scares me to death. Luckily we are in a car by ourselves. I think the railroad did it on purpose but I won't say anything. The solitude is comforting in a strange way.

Right now he is gazing at the passing scenery almost in a trance. I clear my throat subtly but it doesn't shake him from his watch. With a playful growl I bat at his nose like the feline I am and his eyes finally shift to me.

Though the first few times I pulled this stunt I nearly lost a hand he has quickly grown accustom to my playful nature. The Wolverine side has even started to play back at times. It is a mystery to me how a wolverine and a tiger could coexist so easily but perhaps it is because we are also human that our weird personalities mix so well.

As I am drawn from my own thoughts his predatory gaze makes me grin. Again I am thankful for our solitude as I bound up and rush through the boxcar playfully calling back at him. I easily bound over seats and dodge through the isles as he peruses me. It really is a game of cat and mouse but for some reason this feline has become the mouse.

He eventually catches me and I go down laughing. I would have never associated this man with the Wolverine I knew from the compound. He has relaxed a bit since then but only around me, when we are truly and utterly alone.

I laugh and let out a growl as he nuzzles my neck laughing in his own right. Though we have decided to get to know each other before we truly commit to anything it is hard to fight against the feral nature that seems to be merging with our human side every day.

I find that Logan though a bit rough around the edges has a soft and caring side. He is very protective even when his feral side is dormant. I've also found that even though he acts all rough and tough with children he seems to be fond of them in his own way.

The way he acted around Rachel the week we were staying around my aunt. She is only ten and at first was terrified of Logan. She constantly tried to hide behind me when ever he came into the room.

So she was utterly amazed one night when Logan let out a growling purr and tackled me tickling me to death in front of her. He then seemed to 'notice' her and got all mock serious huffing away.

I knew to call his bluff but instead I couched down and whispered to Rachel that he was just a big puppy dog inside and that his rough tough act was just to scare all the bad guys away.

From that day forward she stopped hiding, actually she even pulled a few 'sneak' attacks on him. The day before we left she pounced on him from the stair case and clung to his neck telling him she would miss him.

Of course she made sure no one was around because she knew he wanted no one to know about his 'soft' side but that was beside the point.

The squealing of the metal wheels locking up brought me back from my reverie and I knew that we had arrived at our destination. I tried to get up but was still pinned in Logan's arms.

"Come on Logan, we need to get going" He only held me tighter for a moment and as I glanced back over my shoulder at him I could see his eyes flashing black on and off.

Sighing I let out a purr rubbing my cheek against him "Come on Wolverine… We need to go, let Logan come back out and perhaps after we get settled in you and tiger can go for a nice run. I hear the place we are going has a large woods behind it for you to explore"

With a nod of acknowledgement his grip on me loosened but not before I heard a growled "mine, stay" yet again. I nodded and purred loudly to let him know I understood.

Logan came back and quickly released me. He was frowning clearing upset that Wolverine had come back out. I gave him a reassuring smile. "He behaved himself Logan… Don't worry, I'm not going to let him hurt anyone"

He looked away from me and started off the train. I stopped in my tracks when he spoke quietly almost as if he didn't want me to hear him "It's not just anyone I'm worried about him hurting"

I gulped then quickly caught up with him. We got off the train and started towards where aunt Bonny had said someone would be waiting on us. We had no luggage to pick up. All we had were the cloths on our backs and a backpack that had a few changes of cloths slung over my shoulder. Bonny and Ralf didn't have much money but the owner of the school and reassured them that once we arrived he would help us out.

When we got to the designated meeting place we saw a woman with long white hair waiting. She looked up at us and after a moment decided to approach. "Mr. Logan, Ms. Swanson I presume?"

I looked her over and subtly sniffed the air, I could hear Logan doing the same beside me. She smelled alright, like the air after a violent storm had just passed. "Yes… I'm Ms. Swanson but you can call me Alara, may I ask whom you might be?"

Even though her skin tone was dark you could easily see a blush rise. "Oh I am sorry I am Ororo Monroe, but most people call me Storm"

I gave her a slight smile then nodded "Well we probably should be going, Logan and I are still a bit antsy when around large crowds."

She nodded and quickly turned setting off towards a van that was parked a few feet from the entrance of the train station. I started after her but Logan was stationary. I turned to look at him but he blinked shaking his head briefly then followed after me.

At first the trip was silent. Ororo seemed to be fidgety and also seemed to want to say something numerous times but she continued to start then stop. I watched her like any predator would, observing her features and movements. Her long white hair and blue eyes stood out a stark contrast to her black skin.

I wondered how she had escaped capture when our country went into chaos but then I realized I didn't know if she had been captured or not. Finally I broke the silence letting out a sigh. "Speak your mind Storm, we do not bite… usually"

A grunt from Logan seemed to convey that he didn't fully agree but my comment seemed to have put Ororo at ease. "Professor Xavier didn't tell us to much about you. He said he would brief us once you arrived. I was wondering how you knew the Professor?"

I let out a soft laugh shaking my head of course the Professor would be iffy to tell the others about what the duo had went through without talking to them. All he needed was a pissed off pair of ferals knocking down his door.

"My Grandmother Lilly went to school with your Professor Xavier. She has been in contact with him for years, when she heard he was reopening this school she thought that he might be able to take us in."

Ororo looked back at me through the mirror with a questioning look. Logan let out a growl showing he didn't want to talk about it. I shrugged my shoulders. "You will find out along with everyone else. We have a bit to talk about before letting you all know what has happened"

She nodded seeming to understand and began talking about the residence that had returned to the school. No students as of yet seeing as how so many had went into hiding but she said how the group hoped that within the next year or two the children would start returning.

"Well we do have a few Ferals on our staff, actually our school doctor is a feral but he was born as a first class feral but later turned into a third class. He's a really great guy I think you will both like him."

This made me a bit curious I wondered how he avoided the compounds but perhaps the transformation was recent or he escaped to one of the 'free' countries. Ororo continued on talking about a few of the younger residence. She spoke of a Scot Summers and a Jean Gray.

They both sounded a bit to… tame for my tastes but I tried not to pass judgment. We finally arrived at the school having had a brief rundown of the occupants and the history of the school.

To say I was amazed would be putting it to simply. The building was HUGE, it was nearly the size of seven of my old high schools. And from what Ororo had said there was even more underground.

I could smell the woods behind the compound and glanced over at Logan. His eyes were gazing almost longingly towards where the woods were. I brushed my shoulder against his then nodded towards the doors. "Come on Logan, I told you if you didn't like it here we could leave"

He grunted "I don't like it here" I looked at him and shook my head "not good enough, you haven't even stepped foot inside yet, there is no way to know if you like the place yet or not.

He gave me a look that seemed to say 'oh yeah?' but I ignored it and followed Ororo towards the school that was now going to be my home. As we approached the door Ororo stopped then looked back at me. "I am really glad you have decided to come to our school Alara, Logan. I am looking forward to getting to know both of you"

I nodded and gave her a half smile. We then entered the building. The scents and sounds were overwhelming even with only the staff having returned. I shook my head trying to clear my mind. As I opened my eyes I noticed an older man wheeling up towards us.

"My my… Child you look so much like your grandmother it is breath taking." I watched the man for a moment then smiled "Hello Professor Xavier, Grandma Lilly has told me so many good things about you."

He gave me a smile then looked over at Logan. "Welcome to the Xavier Institute Mr. Logan, Ms. Swanson. I am very glad that you have decided to join our ranks. If you would like Ororo will show you to your rooms and once you have settled in we can introduce you to the rest of the staff."

I nodded then reached out taking Logan's arm. "Thank you again Professor We will see you after we've settled in" Logan followed us silently. He was pouting and I had to restrain myself from laughing.

Ororo took us to the teachers wing and motioned towards a room "This will be Yours Alara, my room is right next door and Jean's is on the other side of mine. Logan your room is just down the hall right next to Scotts."

Logan looked at Ororo letting out a snort but nodding. They made their way down to Logan's new room leaving at mine to get settled in. As I walked into the room I was stunned it was spacious. The large queen bed only took up a small portion of the room. There was a small walk in closet and a bathroom that had a decent sized tub.

I had just finished my exploration when there was a knock on my door. I walked over answering it curious as to who would be bothering me already. It was Ororo, she had come to see how I was settling in.

"How come the rooms are so large? This room looks big enough for two." She smiled "These are the teachers quarters, of course Xavier planned on people bringing there spouses with them if they planned on teaching. It gives you an element of privacy. The rooms are also sound proof so that you can get away for a while."

I nodded "That maybe a good thing. I was going to warn you and this Scott person that Logan and I tend to have nightmares." She gave me a sympathetic smile but nodded "I will inform Scott just so he knows."

After she left I decided a nice bath and a change of cloths would be in order. I drew a hot bath and stripped down slipping in with a content sigh. It had been so long since I had a good bath. At aunt Bonny's house they only had showers.

My soar muscles seemed to sigh in relief in the scalding hot water. I leaned my head back closing my eyes. This was my heaven… well some of my heaven. I would imagine having a companion rubbing my shoulders or scalp. Yes having Logan here would be heaven.

I nearly jumped as that thought crossed my mind. Why would I wish for Logan to be here, yet again I think of how little I know about him. I guess the fact that he protected me and saved my life had integrated him pretty deeply in my heart.

After washing the grime from travel from my body I got out and dried off changing into a clean outfit. It was just another black shirt and the camo pants that I had taken from the cabin but something about them made me feel safe.

As I left my room I caught the scent of Logan. He was waiting just down the hall for me. I gave him a warm smile then joined him as we went to track down Xavier.

AN/ Ooooh so were getting to the meetings… lets see how this goes…


	4. Sugar Sweet

AN Hello everyone. I'm sorry for the delay. Life got rather hectic in the last few months. I had only promised 3 chapters but from the lovely reviews I noticed that a lot of my fans wanted more. So from popular demand here is the newest chapter. I can't promise quick updates, my newest job kind of keeps me busy and there is a possibility that I'll be moving from Indiana to California eventually so although I will do my best to update frequently but I can't promise how often I'm going to update.

Chapter 4 Sugar Sweet

Ferals

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men characters. I do however own Alara she's all mine and any family that I may mention also belongs to me.

Logan and I made our way down towards the kitchen after such a long trip a quick bite to eat sounded like a wonderful idea. Logan almost instantly poked his head into the fridge looking for what I assumed to be a beer. I found out quickly that he was rather fond of them while we were staying with my aunt and uncle.

I let out a slight chuckle and started to sniff around the kitchen. I could smell beef jerky around here somewhere and I just had to find it. It had always been my favorite snack food before I had been taken to the facility.

I had just found the jerky in a cupboard near the fridge when a male entered the kitchen. He smelled very clean. His scent almost screamed clean freak. The male stopped in the kitchen seeming to take in the scene before bristling. "Who are you and what are you doing in our fridge!"

Logan almost immediately started to growl and go on the defensive. I quickly swallowed the food in my mouth nearly choking on it in the process. After coughing for a second I sighed "I am Alara and this is Logan. We're the new residence, Professor Xavier was going to introduce us later on but he's giving us a little while to rest after our trip from Minnesota.

The clean freak didn't relax actually he seemed to look like a fish as he tried to think of what to say. "Errr. I'm sorry… My name is Scott, Scott Summers… welcome to the Institute. Have you been given a tour yet?"

Logan grunted and turned back into the fridge leaving it up to me to deal with Scott. "Yes, Ororo gave us a quick tour earlier she said after we got a bit of rest she would fully show us around. No worries Mr. Summers, we are well taken care of. We are just going to get a bite to eat then go look over the grounds."

Scott sputtered a bit but eventually nodded "I'll tell Remy to leave the security system off for a while then. Just tell someone when you return."

After assuring Scott that we would inform someone when we returned from our exploration of the grounds he reluctantly left us to our own devices. I quickly went back to my jerky but not even a few seconds later Logan turned to leave.

I quickly put a final piece of jerky in my mouth then tucked the jerky in a hiding spot. I wasn't going to let anyone else find it. I trailed after Logan savoring the jerky. After swallowing the jerky I let out a purr. "So what now Logan, a quick prowl of the perimeters then explore the actual woods?"

Logan didn't answer me so I quickened my pace and caught up with him. "Logan?" I heard a low growl come from him and I knew that Wolverine had come out. I knew that addressing him by Logan would be useless so I quickly restated my question to Wolverine. He grunted the affirmative and I started off towards the gates.

As I walked I had a quick mental chat with the tigress. I was going to release control to her but I needed to make sure that when I did they would stay away from other people and keep to themselves. She didn't actually respond but I could feel her confirming that she would do her best to not only stay away from people but to keep Logan away and come sunrise she would let me come back as long as I would let her out again like I was doing tonight.

After agreeing with my inner tiger I relaxed letting her take over. I knew even though she was wild animal she would keep her word. She liked being free to roam and she liked being around wolverine. I have great control over the beast within and with the promise to let her out and about she would do almost anything to assure that she had that freedom.

--; Third Person; --

The moment Tiger was free she let out a chuff enjoying her freedom. Her golden eyes scanned the area quickly catching sight of the Wolverine. A playful growl escaped her as she pounced on the larger feral.

Wolverine was quick to react by pulling the playful tiger off of him. A low growl came from him as he wrapped his arms around her nuzzling her neck. His eyes looked up scanning the layout of the land. There was plenty of area to run and stretch his legs.

Looking down at the little female in his arms he decided that this place wasn't so bad. He could smell other ferals around but none seemed to be as wild as the pair. He decided a little game of cat and mouse through the woods would adequately spread their scent around the area as well as get them a bit of exercise.

With a bit of prodding the tigress took off into the woods with Wolverine in hot pursuit. A few of the occupants were startled by the yelps and growls that echoed from the woods but a mental 

message from the professor that it was just the new occupants of the house exploring the grounds put their minds a ease… somewhat.

--; end third person;--

The sun was just peaking over the horizon when I slowly came to my senses. Apparently over the night Wolverine and Tigress had found a little alcove to sleep for the night. It was actually a beautiful place a large rock stuck out from another making a small overhang that would protect the duo from any morning rain.

There was a small clearing where you could see the sky and the few remaining stars twinkling in the twilight. It smelled absolutely wild and clean here such a difference from the large city that wasn't even that far from here.

Yawning I tried to move from the spot I was occupying but again I felt the strong arm wrapped around my middle. I let out a low sigh trying to remove Logan's arm from my midsection. "Stop squirming, it's too early to get up"

I let out a low rumbling chuff. "Come on Logan, we really need to get back to the institute. We're going to meet the others today. We should really get cleaned up before we meet everyone."

He sighed and drew me closer "Fine…" after a few minutes he loosened his hold on me and got up. He helped me to stand up and it was then I noticed his cloths. They were caked with dirt and mud. What had our Feral sides done the previous night rolled around like pigs?

At the mental question I got a flash of getting tackled and falling into the mud at the edge of a stream. I let out a loud laugh, Logan gave me a questioning look and I just smiled. "come on you really need a bath apparently we went for a romp through some mud puddles"

Logan reached up brushing a bit dried mud off of my cheek. "I think we both need a bath darlin"

We slowly made our way up towards the main building being in no rush to leave the quiet retreat.

As we entered the building we were greeted by a beautiful red head that was coming down the stairs apparently to start breakfast. "Oh hello! You must be Logan and Alara! I'm Jean"

Her voice sent shivers down my spine. It was sugary sweet almost making me sick. Something about this female made me want to growl and claim my territory. "Yes… excuse us"

I tried to push past her but she placed her hand on Logan's arm. "Why don't I make you something to eat before you run off?"

Without my consent a growl did permeate from deep within my chest and it took all my will power to stop myself from tearing her throat out for touching my potential mate.

Logan moved away from Jean looking over at me giving me a look. I calmed down a bit biting my tongue. "No, we both need a shower before we meet the rest of the staff".

She looked disappointed but nodded "alright, well breakfast will be ready in about an hour don't be too late or there will be nothing good left"

With a growl I made my way up the stairs grumbling under my breath. Logan trailed behind me but I could hear a low chuckle coming from him. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around sharply. "What's so funny!"

He had this weird grin on his face and just shook his head as my reply. I growled and shoved him in the chest. "WHAT!"

Logan reached up grabbing my chin between his thumb and forefinger. "Awww is the little kitten jealous?"

The hair on the back of my neck bristled. "No… she just rubs my fur the wrong way."

He just shook his head and ushered me to my room. As we stood outside my door I was still a bit peeved about the whole scene on the stairs. I was upset that the girl had pawed at Logan like a cat in heat and Logan had let her but being the female I was I had decided pouting was the most constructive way to deal with the situation.

The alternative would probably get us kicked out of the institute. I don't think Professor Xavier would like to see any of his staff strung up by their pretty red hair. "Go shower and change the professor will be waiting on us."

I scowled at him pouting… "Just a little scratch?"

He laughed leaning down and kissing my nose. "You are the one who wanted to stay here, have you changed your mind already?"

I sighed "No… that backyard was beautiful. I'll just have to put her in her place."

He nodded then turned "I'll see you in a bit Alara go shower and change. I'll be waiting out here for you."

--; ; --

Walking into my room I let out a long sigh. I really needed to calm down. I was becoming possessive of Logan after only two weeks. It was starting to bother me. It was true we had started to get to know each other although it was a bit difficult with the gaps that were in Logan's memory.

We got along great, we were both loners so we knew when to leave each other alone and when to just sit quietly and be there for the other person. Our ferals were absolutely positive that this was 

a good choice and I knew from previous experience to trust my feral. She was smart and so far never had lead me astray.

After a long shower to calm myself I emerged and changed into my last set of clean cloths. We really needed to see the professor and talk about going shopping for a few outfits soon.

Leaving my hair wet I pulled it in a tight braid and went to the hall way to meet up with Logan. He smelled clean but the undertone of the woods still lingered in his scent. I'm positive that he could never bury it beneath all the cleaning products like Scott had.

We made our way down to the dining room where there was a small group of people gathered. Before we entered there was a dull roar of talking but once a few people noticed us the talking slowly stopped.

Ororo stood up and smiled "Logan, Alara how was your exploration of the grounds? Come sit down and help yourself."

I smiled deciding I liked the woman. She smelled wonderful and she was very polite but not fakely so like the red head. "Thank you Ororo"

Looking around there were very few seats open at the table. There was plenty of space in the room as if either the table was meant to be either expanded or another table could have been added.

The only open seats were between Ororo and the professor and Jean and some stripped haired girl. Letting out a low growl I conceded to let Logan sit by Jean, it would have been impolite to not say hello to the professor after all is because of him and my grandmother that we were even here.

Sitting down I smiled at the professor trying my hardest to ignore the sky smile or the flirtatious laugh coming from down the table where Logan was located. "Hello Professor Xavier. Thanks again for inviting Logan and me here to stay with you"

The professor gave me a smile placing his hand on mine. "Lilly's granddaughter is always ways welcome here. I am sorry to hear that you have been put through so many challenges but hopefully all that will be put behind us and you can start anew".

It was refreshing to hear his words, they were sincere and very heartfelt. I smiled nodding, I could hear that the talk was still hushed around the table and a few people were very curious about exactly what he was talking about. Sighing I finally looked over at Logan. We really needed to tell the others at least an abbreviated version of what had happened to us.

He seemed to know what I was thinking because he gave a slight nod. I looked over to the professor and leaned over. "After dinner is there anywhere we might be able to go to brief the others about what has happened and where we came from?"

I nearly jumped out of my seat when mentally he answered me telling me that they would meet in the debriefing room after everyone had finished dinner. I smiled and mentally responded to him.

I ate dinner with my heart in my throat. I knew Logan wouldn't say much, he really didn't remember much from the facility anyways. His memories were spotty and even completely messing at times.

Eventually the other people at the table were finished eating and although I knew I hadn't eaten very much I knew that if I tried to eat any more it might be returning during the briefing.

I guess the benefit of my distraction was that I wasn't worrying about how much Jean had been flirting with my mate. But as we got up from the table and I heard Scott scoff my attention again returned to the duo.

I couldn't help it when a loud growl escaped me and my eyes briefly switched to their dark golden color. I glared at Jean moving quickly over to them pushing between them. "Move"

The red head looked to want to argue but something seemed to stop her. She glanced over at the Professor then moved away from Logan and me. She seemed a bit skittish as the group moved towards where I guessed the debriefing room was.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned about to growl at who ever dared to touch me. I saw Logan behind me and the feral in me stopped roaring and started to chuff. My eyes slowly returned to their natural blue color. "Calm down darlin… everything is fine"

Just before the feral was completely under control again I chuffed aloud and rubbed my cheek against his.

Coming to my senses I blushed looking away "I'm sorry Logan… I don't know what came over me"

It was really strange for once I didn't black out when Tigress took over my mind. I wasn't exactly sure why but I still had very little control over my actions.

Logan leaned closer and I could tell that his eyes were a bit darker than normal but not the typical wolverine dark. "No worries darlin, I've wanted to do the same thing since I sat down at the table"

He chuckled and leaned back. I smiled and turned to follow the others. They were a good distance ahead of us. We trailed behind them following them to our intended destination. Looking over at Logan I sighed "Something weird just happened"

He gave me a grunt that meant for me to continue. "I didn't blank out when Tigress took over. I mean I had little to no control over her but I remember what happened, her every thought and feeling. It was odd."

He looked at me and thought "There has been a few times when that's happened to me, mostly when my feral and I agreed with each other."

I blinked and again a bright red blush covered my face. The fact that unknowingly I had claimed Logan as my own shocked me. Though I can't say that I was to upset about that but now I was worried that Logan might not be happy with that decision.

AN

Alright everyone first and foremost I must say CLIFFY LOL ok I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me clarify something. Chuffing is a sound that Tigers make. They cannot purr but chuffing is very similar in nature to a purr. Think of it this way… it's a grunt that trails off to a short purring sound. It's a sound made when a tiger pushes air out over the roof of its mouth. It's what tigers do when they are happy or when they see someone they like. They do it in the wild to greet other tigers (of the opposite sex) in the wild. Please read and review


	5. Clash of Titans

AN Hey everyone, I'm glad that my fanbase is growing and I'm really happy that you all like this story. I'm sorry for the slow updates but I'm trying to juggle updating all my stories and updating my original story… which once it is finished I'll make sure everyone knows.. you might see a few parallels between my original story and this one… when I started writing Ferals it gave me the idea for my original story but they aren't the same… Well enjoy everyone.

Chapter 5 The Clash of Titans

Ferals

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men characters. I do however own Alara she's all mine and any family that I may mention also belongs to me.

The room loomed ahead of us and I wasn't very excited about addressing all the strange people I always got nervous in front of crowds. My mind was so scrambled from the fact that both my feral side and I were agreeing on something that I couldn't even think about what I was going to tell the growing crowd in the room that we had just entered. Finally everyone had settled into their seats and Professor Xavier directed Logan and me to the front of the room where there was two seats. Logan sat down and turned so that he was watching me as well. It was apparent that Logan was going to leave this fully up to me, he wasn't going to help at all.

I let my eyes run over the crowd the room was rather full. I couldn't sit down if I was going to do this so I started to pace at the front of the room trying to gather my thoughts. Finally I turned to the crowed and sighed "Well lets get this started… I'm Alara and this is Logan… I'm also known as Tigress and he's known as Wolverine… now first I should ask how much you really know about Ferals and the breeding facilities… that way I know how much I am going to have to explain"

I had slipped into teacher mode, I felt like if I let them explain the ferals and facilities themselves I wouldn't have to talk as much. My eyes scanned over the group, there were two ferals sitting around the table, strangely enough both were furry and blue, I wondered to myself if they were related. My guess from their scent and look they were first level ferals so they may know more about ferals and the facilities than everyone else. As my eyes scanned I finally landed on a small girl who in my mind shouldn't have been in the room. She raised her hand like a school girl would and Xavier mentally supplied the girls name "Yes Kitty you don't have to raise your hand I'm not a teacher… juts tell me what you know"

The girl smiled sweetly than tilted her head "Like well Ferals are the people who animal like mutations. There are like three different levels of Feral, Beast and Nightcrawler are like the first level just having a physical mutation, then there is like the second level that has a power mutation where they have animal like sense and then like there is the third level where they have both physical and sense mutations."

I smile at the young girl and nod even though her 'likes' got on my nerves a bit she was correct. "Yes, well since the war the united states government along with a few others around the world. Logan and I are some of the last third class ferals that survived. The last count I heard only fifty of the third class ferals were left in the united states thanks to one of the mutant hating groups."

I stopped and looked around wondering if anyone would say anything about the facilities. When no one raised their hand or said anything I decided that I would have to tell them about the facilities. "The breeding facilities were developed so that the government could make the perfect weapon. It is rare that a third class mutant is born, most people only have a single mutation but thirdclasses technically have between two and four. We not only get the physical mutation we also get the senses of the animal but the speed and strength. The government wanted weapons to help track down and destroy mutants, the only way to do that is to use a third class mutant. So they had many different programs, one was to take and put chips into third classes to control their mind but they quickly discovered that it typically drove the third classes to insanity or the chip would break, they tried to use telepaths to brainwash the third classes but it also drove them to insanity. So they came up with the brilliant idea of breeding third classes to get children that they could raise and manipulate to do their bidding."

I paused to let this information sink in and looked at Logan hoping that he would perhaps help me with the next stage of the explanation but he just gave me an encouraging smile. I sigh and chew on my lip for a moment before starting back up with the story.

"The government kept track of all the ferals through the registry and when they turned 18 they were taken into custody and put into the program. The ideal outcome was to breed two third class ferals to hopefully produce a third class feral, but with the limited number of third class ferals they decided to try breeding a third class with one of the other two classes. Personally I don't know how successful they were, when I was brought into the program there was only three third classes total at my facility. One was sterile *shutter*, one was me and the other was Logan. The idiots who ran the facility thought that I would play along with their plan but I'm not an idiot… I wasn't going to be used and I wasn't going to let them use any of my children so I fought and fought hard… the whole while I was at the facility I heard from the nurses and doctors and keepers that there was a male feral, Logan, who wasn't participating either… Yes I know most of you are thinking 'but if the ideal breeding pair is two third class ferals' but the answer to that is that they feared that with both of us fighting the program that we might hurt each other and be totally useless. When they finally got fed up with my disobedience they thought they would toss me to Logan so we could kill each other and get us out of their hair. Lucky for us it didn't turn out that way."

Again I paused… almost pleading for Logan to help me explain what had happened… I didn't want to go into extreme detail we didn't need the others being terrified of us. He gave me an encouraging smile and I growled at him before turning back to the group. "You all must understand two things before I go on. First third class ferals differ in another way from other mutants and other ferals we have what some might consider a second personality. Some call it their inner beast others call it another personality, I like to think of her as my feral self. She isn't much different than me it's just like if my inner instincts had a voice. Most ferals never have to worry about their inner beast but in stressful situations or in life or death situations the inner beast will take over, when this happens it's almost like my personality goes to sleep, I rarely remember what happened when my feral side has taken control. She's not evil if she's out she typically tries to avoid others or if I'm in danger she takes over to protect me or those I care about. "

"The second thing you must understand is that when you're stuck in a ten by ten metal cell for weeks and months on end being treated like nothing but a breeding animal that to keep yourself sane it was best to let the feral side dominate. Not to fight or protect yourself but because animals mentality isn't as sophisticated as a humans, it still drives them crazy to be caged up but they won't be driven crazy by thoughts of freedom and the need for socialization"

I finally stopped pacing and grabbed the chair sitting down and leaning my head back to gather my thoughts. Everyone was quiet intently listening to my explanation, I knew at times I was rambling a bit but I figured that they would gather what information they wanted from my speech and ignore the rest. "Logan had been in the facility for a very long time, he had already been part of the weapons program before being brought into the breeding program so his feral side was clearly dominate over his human side so he didn't react well to others, typically if a female was put into his cage they left injured and most of the time unable to continue with the program… By the time I was thrown to Logan to be killed off I was at the same stage. You only had two choices lay down and participate with the program or defend yourself there was nothing else you could do and our ferals sides were just as against participating as our human sides. Anyways finally the keepers and head of our facility were tired with us removing so many ferals from the program that they figured we would be tossed in together and kill each other… as you see it didn't happen. They tossed us in together, we growled and fought a bit but then Wolverine and Tigress must have decided that they didn't mind each other and instead decided that together they might be able to fight against the program" ok so maybe a bit of a fib but they didn't need to know that their feral sides had decided that they like each other and wanted to be mates.

Again I jumped up and paced a bit trying to gather my bearings "Apparently about this time the facilities had begun to be shut down and our facility was on the list, when the keepers found out what was going on they decided to get rid of the evidence… meaning us… they came in and tried to shoot Logan and than me, they shot Logan but I ended up taking down the keeper and Logan healed. We didn't know what was going on so we escaped and ran. We ran for days until we came upon a place that was familiar to me, my Aunts home… where we stayed until coming here"

I shook myself off like an animal than collapsed in the chair with my head down and hair hanging in my face. I was exhausted from telling the story and worried about how the others would react to the story. My eyes shifted to Logan and he nodded to show that I did well. I let the breath escape me than looked up at the others. Some of the girls had their mouths hanging open in shock and the two ferals were shaking their heads as if in disbelief… I guessed that both had been in another country during the program.

Finally the girl named Kitty got up and bound around the table shocking me when she wrapped her arms around me in a hug "I'm so Like sorry that you had to go through that! I mean like oh my god you are only like a few years older than me and you're like just a bit older than Rogue… I can't like imagine what you had to deal with. If you like need anyone to talk to you can come find me like ok?!"

I sputtered for a moment than nodded. "Um… alright" A few of the other girls nodded in agreement letting me know that they would be there if I needed to talk. I felt a bit better but the way that Jean was eyeing Logan as if she was going to get up and go 'comfort' him. I turned my attention to her and glared before looking over at Xavier. "That's really it… were not going to hurt anyone our feral sides are rather content being here, and they aren't vicious creatures just defensive…"

He smiled at me motioning for the others "Don't worry my girl, you are more than welcome to stay. Now perhaps you can take some time to get to know the others than we can meet up again for lunch. I have a few things to take care of before lunch starts" With that the man wheeled out of the room and left the rest of us in the briefing room.

The girl named Kitty drug Rogue over to me and smiled "Alara this is Rogue and as you know I'm Kitty. I'm like nineteen and Rogue is like twenty one. Professor X told us that we should like see if you wanted to go shopping after lunch because you don't have many items of your own. He said we could use the school account. He also told us that Scott would be taking Logan too"

I blanched and shook my head "That probably isn't a good idea… I don't think Scotts taste in clothing is very similar to Logans…" Rogue smiled and nodded "Ah can ask Remy if ya want, than we can all go together."

I gave Rogue a puzzled look and she sighed looking through the crowed. Almost instantaneously a man came strutting out of the crowd over to us. "Oui mon Amour you glared…" Rogue laughed and nodded her head. "Swamp Rat could ya do me a favor and take Logan out shopping, Alara said that his taste probably doesn't run along the same lines as Scooters"

Remy smiled and turned to me taking my hand kissing it "My pleasure mon cheri" A growl echoed across the group and Remy released my hand and smiled coyly at me. "ooh it seems that the big bad wolf is a bit possessive non?"

I smiled and shrug "It goes both ways…" It was at that moment that my eye shifted across the room and I saw Jean again seeming to paw at Logan and with a growl I turned ignoring the others and stalking off towards Logan and Jean a loud growl coming from me. "Paws off I won't tell you again girl…"

Jeans eyes shifted to me and she scoffed "Shouldn't you be gossiping with the other young girls Ms. Alara" my eyes shifted and I reached out grabbing her collar pulling her down to my level. I was still shorter than the tall lanky red head but I wanted my point to be clear.

"Listen here Ms. Gray I am not a child, I am twenty-two years old, I have been through hell and I will do as I please. The only reason I haven't skinned you like a downed deer is because I owe Xavier a lot and he seems to like you. So lay off and stay away from my mate or I'll have to do something I'll regret."

I released her but still growled ready to rip her throat out if she made a wrong move. The whole of the room had gotten quiet during my rant and I could hear the soft gasps behind me from Rogue, Kitty and Remy. Jean was about to protest but Logan put a hand on my shoulder and leaned down trying to calm me down. "Calm down Alara"

I shifted my gaze from the infuriating red head to Logan and sighed shaking my head. "Sorry Logan… Tigress doesn't seem to like Ms. Gray much…"

My eyes shift back to Jean but I don't apologize to her, she had already been warned and must have ignored it. I turned back towards Logan and sigh "Rogue and Kitty are going to take me shopping they've offered for you to join us and Rogues going to bring Remy along so your not surrounded by a bunch of girls"

He smiled and leaned down rubbing his stubbly cheek against mine. "Alright darlin, sounds like a plan."

I smiled and turn from Jean heading back towards the girls with a shy smile. "Uh… sorry for storming off, sometimes Tigress goes a little over board and takes over"

Remy chuckled and nodded "Don't worry about it" Rogue smiled and nodded "Ah understand whatcha mean, but at least your guy doesn't flirt back…" She growled glaring at Remy as she spoke and I ended up laughing.

Soon it was lunch time and as a group we made our way up to the dining room. Lunch was simple just a choice of either tomato soup and grilled cheese or a salad with chicken. My eyes roamed over the meal and I growled shaking my head. I could see Logan felt the same way about the simple meal and both of us didn't feel like eating like birds.

Rogue caught my look and nudged Remy and Kitty "Hey why don't we ditch lunch and go get something to eat, I mean can't we celebrate having our new friends with a good meal out." Kitty squealed which made both Logan and I cringe before jumping up. "I like know the perfect place! I'll go get my purse!"

The girl darted off and I looked back at Rogue "Thanks Rogue… I spent months eating simple things like soup and bread… I would really like something with depth to it."

She smiled nodded "Yeah I know whatcha mean, I was a run away for a while and after wards I couldn't stand eating bread or soup for a long time either."

Kitty soon returned and we left for the garage where Rogue pulled out a set of keys for a black SUV it was a Dodge Durango and had plenty of cargo space and room for us. Rogue and Remy sat in the front with kitty in the third row and Logan and I in the middle. The ride was boring and I ended up curling up against Logan's side and dozing off for the short ride. I was tired from the long day and his scent was a comfort to my stressed mind.

When we arrived Kitty lead us into the mall and directly to a restaurant built into the building. They served steak and quickly Logan and I both ordered a large cut of medium rare steak. After a quick meal Kitty and Rogue drug me off to go shopping leaving Logan and Remy to fend for themselves.

We met back up three hours and countless stores later with each of us having a new small wardrobe. Kitty seemed disappointed because my choice of clothing was a bit on the darker colors side and when we, we being Rogue and I, had slipped into Hot Topic she had sat outside of the store terrified of the pierced sales person that had helped us.

By the time we were about to head home Remy suggested dropping off our cloths than Logan, Remy, Rogue and I heading off to a local bar to get diner and some drinks." Logan agreed quickly and I nodded my consent. I had spent my twenty first birthday running from the program so I had never really gotten a chance to go to a club or bar before so this was a bit exciting to me.

AN: Hey everyone, sorry the ending is so abrupt but I thought it would be a good place to end for now I hope this answered a few questions you had and sedated your hunger for updates from me. The French is basic so if you don't understand it just ask ok. I'm not good with writing accents so I'm a bit iffy on writing Remy and Rogue but I'll try. Please read and review ok. I'm sorry that a good portion of this chapter is regurgitating but I needed for you guys to know that was left out of their little tail for a reason… it will come up later in the story.


End file.
